Till China and Africa Meet
by PaperFrames
Summary: Two nights ago she'd been in her apartment, wrapped in Brian's arms, and enjoying her day off. Now here she was, sitting on the couch in her ex-partner's apartment in Brooklyn, listening as he confirmed his daughter's words. He was a walking dead man.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So instead of working on the chapter fic I already have going, I started a new chapter fic. I'm smart, huh? But I have to go where my creativity takes me. This takes place around the beginning of season 14, after Undercover Blues, but before Her Negotiation meaning there is no William Lewis or the beast.

The beginning is slightly steamy in the area of Bensidy, jsyk. Remember, no flames, please. This story will feature EO and Bensidy, too, and I already have the endgame in mind.

All mistakes are mine. i sorry. Please tell me what you think so i know if i should continue or not. Also thank you for reading, too! :)

**Disclaimer:** All Hail Lord Dick Wolf.

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**Till China and Africa Meet**

'I'll love you, dear, I'll love you  
Till China and Africa meet,  
And the river jumps over the mountain  
And the salmon sing in the street . . ..

-W.H Auden "As I Walked Out One Evening"

_After_

_Grief: /grēf/ __noun_

_ 1. Deep sorrow, especially that caused by someone's death._

_Denial. _

_Anger. _

_Bargaining. _

_Depression. _

_Acceptance. _

_He's not even dead yet and all five stages of grief begin to rocket over her in waves. Anger is the strongest, closely followed by denial. She's absolutely livid, so angry that she could spit fire and fight dragons. But she's also in denial because she can't believe it; he's dying, Elliot is dying. He's expelling some of his last breaths as she sits there, fists clenched and eyes closed, mind propelling through years and years of memories. _

'_Look how well you turned out.' _

'_You and this job are the only things I have left.' _

'_I just need some room to disagree with you every now and then.' _

'_I'm fine – Like hell you are.' _

"_Liv," he starts, reaching for her elbow and she shrinks from his touch, shaking her head. She sets her eyes straight forward, fixing them to the Crayola masterpiece scrawled across the wall; Eli's doing no doubt._

_Two nights ago she'd been in her apartment, wrapped in Brian's arms, enjoying her day off and now here she was, sitting on the couch in her ex-partner's apartment in Brooklyn, listening as he confirmed his daughter's words. He was a walking dead man. _

_He's dying and she's not certain how to feel. The concept of his mortality hasn't sunk in, and she's not even sure if she forgives him for walking out on her. _

"_You're a selfish sonofabitch." Olivia hisses and the tears are building in her eyes. "You stay gone for two fucking years and when I finally find a way to breathe without you, you pull this?" She rises to her feet, running a hand through her long brown locks. _

"_I didn't even want to tell you. I wasn't going to tell you." He defends, chest puffed high in the air._

_Eyes narrowing, she rounds on him, jabbing a finger into the plains of his chest. _

"_So you were going to slip away into the night like Dr. Kevorkian's last experiment or something? Twelve years of my life and all I was going to get was a fucking online obituary?" _

"_I wasn't going to tell you because I didn't want you to feel like you owed me something – had some obligation to me or some shit like that." _

_A bitter laugh rips from her throat and she chuckles darkly. _

"_Owe you? You're a smug bastard, you know. The only thing I owe you is a right hook. You left me. If anything, you owe me."_

"_I never left you, Liv. I left the job." _

"_I was the job." _

/

She could get used to this, this feeling of utter complacency and bliss. It's 1PM on a Saturday afternoon and instead of chasing down a perp in a pair of obnoxious shoes that hurt her feet, she's here; back against Brian's bare chest, flimsy sheet wrapped around them as she chews on a piece of cold pizza. Behind her, Brian's fingertips graze along her scalp and she moans in enjoyment, causing him to chuckle.

"Either I'm that good, or cold pizza is better than I remember." He jokes playfully, dropping his hands from her hair and trailing them down her bare shoulders, brushing the chestnut locks from her neck as he goes.

Mouth full of ham and pineapple, she speaks, manners aside as the food muffles her voice, "A rittleofboth."

Brian laughs. "Both, huh? Wonder what you'd say if my fingers . . .." he breaks off, fingers dancing down her arms, underneath the barely there sheet, across her stomach, and to the juncture between her legs. Gently he runs a digit across the bundle of nerves and Olivia's hips jolt upward. Her breath hitches in anticipation as he continues his ministrations.

"You're going to make me choke." she grates as one finger slips between her folds; her eyes fall closed and she leans her head back against his chest. She's holding a slice of half eaten pizza in one hand, and the other hand grips the bed sheets. "Fuck . . .."

"I plan on it," is Brian's reply and he nuzzles his chin into the crook of Olivia's neck, lips barely brushing against her pulse point as she all but abandons her pizza.

Between her legs, his fingers work magic while his free hand travels across her stomach in soft, lazy movements.

She chews almost painfully quick, inhaling the last two bites of her pie and then gives herself over completely to the feeling building in the pit of her stomach. She's moaning now, chest heaving and head turning from side to side as her orgasm builds.

"I'm go . . . come, Bri," She moans, both hands now fisting the sheets beneath their bodies and she can feel his erection pressed against lower back as she finds herself sliding down his frame; ready to unravel. Each finger pressed against her, inside her sends her head spinning.

"Then _go come_," he repeats, eyes clouded, voice deep and in between gasps of air she laughs with him.

The laughter soon turns to indecipherable epithets of pleasure and she's shattering around him, her body shuddering as a lazy smile dances across her countenance. Her heart flutters as he slips his hand out from underneath the sheet and he presses a chaste kiss to her forehead.

"Fuck," Olivia responds, grinning, her lashes heavy as her eyelids flutter to and fro. She only has a few moments to recover, however, before she finds herself flat against the mattress; Brian hovers above her, posed at her entrance.

"Ready?" he asks, a devilish glint in his eyes and all Olivia can do is nod.

Saturdays haven't been this satisfying for her in a while, a long while.

/

They're like two horny teenagers as they feel each other up on her couch. Brian's hand is under her shirt, and her hand is on the button of his trousers as they explore each other's mouths with their tongues. They'd abandoned the bedroom to have some semblance of a movie night on the couch, after going for dinner, but Mr. & Mrs. Smith is long forgotten. Instead Olivia's giggling like a mischievous schoolgirl waiting to be caught snogging on her mother's couch, while Brian works to unhook her bra.

It takes them both a few moments to realize that someone is pounding on Olivia's apartment door, though neither of them breaks apart to answer. When the knocking grows frantic and a young, female voice cries for _Olivia_, they reluctantly separate. She figures it must be a vic looking for a reassurance about an upcoming trial, so she stands and attempts to gain her composure.

Re-hooking her bra, she straightens her shirt, and wipes at her mouth.

"Just, give me one sec, Bri," she says as she turns on her heels. He nods and waves her off, situating one of her throw pillows in his lap, and attempts to turn his attention back to the film, though he's completely and utterly lost.

Her hand is on the doorknob when the voice yells again, this time for a _Liv_. Confused, Olivia looks through her peephole, and her brown gems go wide at the sight.

Kathleen Stabler is standing outside of her apartment with a tear streaked face, and wild hair.

As quickly as she can, Olivia throws the door open, and Kathleen rushes in, wrapping her arms around Olivia's middle and burying her face in the older woman's shoulder. Fourteen years in SVU leads Olivia's mind to jump to the worst conclusion first, and she gently grips Kathleen's shoulders, pulling her tight. Sweet nothings and promises of everything will be alright leave Olivia's lips and inside she's already plotting her vengeance against whoever has wronged the young woman in front of her that she's know since Kathleen was ten.

The commotion draws Brian's attention, and he gets to his feet, Olivia hears his footsteps and shakes her head, not wanting to scare Kathleen before she has a chance to tell her story.

In a soothing voice, Olivia speaks, "Kat - Kathleen, honey, you have to tell me what's wrong, love or I can't help . . ."

Kathleen nods in the crook of Olivia's neck, cheek pressed against the bare skin that peeks out from Olivia's V-neck t-shirt. Silently Olivia hopes that Kathleen's on her meds still and that whatever she has to say will make sense.

"Dad's dying." Kathleen whispers, her voice small and child-like.

The words rocket over Olivia in waves and she blinks hard.

"Elliot. . .." She whispers, saying the name she's dared not speak in two years, in her arms Kathleen continues to weep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Oh look, a 4AM update. Insomnia, yay? Thanks for the reviews, lovelies. Glad there seems to be some interest here! But to clear somethings up - Bensidy will be in this story. There's a purpose to them, promise: but first and foremost this is an EO story. Also expect to see some Casey and probably Alex (along with the rest of the team), too. Current svu may have forgotten that exist, but i haven't. Also updates will be considerably slower since i now i have two chapter fics going. eeek. Thanks for reading! -Mari

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own it.

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_'The years shall run like rabbits,_  
_For in my arms I hold_  
_The Flower of the Ages,_  
_And the first love of the world.'_

_W.H Auden_

_After_

_She levels him with her hardest of gazes, one usually reserved for perp. Her dark eyes are stoic, though a glint of moisture dances across their surface. Inside, the part of her that will always be tied to Elliot, the part she's fought tooth and nail to lock away for two years, silently begs him to refute her claim. _

"_You were never the job." His voice is harsh, Brooklyn accent thick, and baby blues oceans of emotion as he repeats himself. _

_Although it's what she wants to hear, that doesn't stop her from letting loose a bitter chuckle. She shakes her head and jabs her finger into the plains of his chest once more. _

"_Lying bastard!" Olivia yells and that's when she sees it, she sees two tubes – a catheter, she guesses, protruding from the right side of his chest, just above his heart. Her hand flattens against his chest, inches away from tubes and she gasps. The fight in her deflates. _

_His large hand then closes around her smaller one, holding it in place. Together they feel his heart beat; around them the world pauses and she's trying not to cry. _

_Olivia thinks that this is what it must be like for children to realize that Superman isn't real, but kryptonite is and she can see it now, the change in his figure. Its like someone has let out the air in an inflatable raft and set it in the corner. He's thinner, and his close-cropped hair is graying. He's sporting a graying beard and there's more creases to his face, no doubt from endless nights of worry. _

_Elliot's hand tightens around Olivia's. _

"_It's a dialysis catheter – or rather right now my kidneys." he chuckles softly more out of habit than humor. _

_Her brows furrow together in confusion. "What?" _

_Dialysis, kidneys; she didn't even know he was sick. _

'_I'd give you a kidney.' _

'_Not if I gave you one first'_

"_Yeah, I was in an accident about four months ago. Crushed a few ribs, some internal bleeding. Long story short, I developed AKI – acute kidney injury, or some shit like that. Kathy's tried explaining it a few times, but you know I'm a thick as a brick when it comes to medical shit." _

"_AKI? Isn't that suppose to be reversible?" she asks softly, moving her hand ever so slightly back, though it remains locked in his; their bodies are barely a rulers length apart. If it wasn't for the looming threat of death surrounding them, she'd revel in the closeness, but all she can do is focus on the fact that he's sick, really sick. Her knowledge of kidney injury is sparse, and limited to the time that she dated a nephrologist when she was fresh out of college. _

"_It's supposed to be, yeah. But from what the good doc tells me I'm on my way to full blown kidney failure." _

"_But that's not completely a death sentence, though, right? There's dialysis and then there's having a transplant." _

"_If only it was that easy, Liv. I'm on dialysis right now," he tilts his chin down to the catheter that peeks out from beneath his tank top. _

_Her eyes follow his. The air is thick and she feels like she's going to suffocate listening to him talk. They've been apart for two years and she's torn between wanting to knock his teeth him and wanting to hold in tightly and never let go. _

"_But my body ain't liking it too much." _

/

Kathleen's grip on Olivia tightens and the girl is near hysterics, coughing and sputtering.

Stunned into silence, Olivia blinks, attempting to gain her bearings.

_Elliot is dying?_

"Kathleen, honey, you've got to calm down; you're going to make yourself sick." Olivia whispers, wrapping her arms around Kathleen. She begins to rub small, smoothing circles along the young blonde's back, shushing her.

"He – he – sa-sa-said that he doesn't want to do it-it-it anymore, Li-Liv," she stutters, chin tilted upwards, her blue eyes bore into Olivia's brown ones and in that moment she is her father's twin.

"Do what baby, what?" Olivia gently prods when all she wants to do is press for hard, straight, and fast answers. She needs to know what's going on, even if hearing about him will no doubt open old wounds that haven't quite healed and she doubts ever will fully.

"Live."

If Kathleen's earlier admission hadn't sent her spinning, this one definitely does. She's just about knocked backwards by the young woman's words. Elliot - not wanting to live? Mr. Catholic himself who lived for his children? Though she knew that people changed, and perhaps in two years time he'd become a completely different person, one who said things like he didn't want to live.

With half sentences and bits and pieces of information, Olivia tries to piece together Kathleen's words and make sense of her current situation.

Earlier she'd been in utter bliss, enjoying a lazy day in bed with Mr. Right Now, a few hours later and she was learning that the one person she'd loved more than life itself was apparently breathing his last breaths.

"Liv," Brian calls from the living room; he's on his feet and slinging his jacket around his shoulder. Both Olivia and Kathleen turn their attention to him.

Kathleen's eyes widening as she realizes what she's interrupted. She pulls back from Olivia's arms and shakes her head.

"Oh no, oh. 'Liva, I'm sorry – I didn't – I didn't mean to. I didn't know. I'll go; I'll go. I'm sorry," she repeating the words like a mantra; clearly still upset.

Olivia opens her mouth to speak, to tell her that she's going nowhere, not right now when she hasn't explained a thing and especially not as upset as she is when Brian speaks again.

"Hey kiddo," he starts, "It's okay, it's been a good day. I need to catch some sleep anyways. Duty calls. You stay." He walks to the door, and wraps Olivia in a half hug before kissing her on forehead and opening the door. "Call me tomorrow, Liv."

"Night, Bri." Olivia responds and the door clicks closed behind him.

In the corner a wild eyed Kathleen stands, her breaths evening out as she runs a hand through her long blonde locks. She looks so small and tired.

She reminds Olivia of a time, way back when, nearly ten years ago when Kathleen, age 15, had begged Elliot and Kathy to let her stay the night with Olivia. Elliot had agreed with little hesitation, though it'd taken Kathy a few more moments to agree.

The two, Kathleen and Olivia, had spent the night talking about inane things such as clothes and shoes, books, boys, and eventually sex; to which Kathleen had finally come clean about having ulterior motives for spending the night with Olivia. She'd come for sex advice, having been contemplating sleeping with her then 17-year-old boyfriend.

Both flattered and horrified, Olivia reluctantly shared the joys and disappointments of first time sex, along with the responsibilities of protecting oneself. She'd even given Kathleen a number to a Planned Parenthood clinic where she could see a doctor for birth control pills without Elliot or Kathy knowing.

After their talk, they'd spent the rest of the night watching sapping rom coms and eating junk food. Of course Kathleen had fallen asleep first, rest her head against Olivia's shoulder.

"I'm really sorry, Liv," Kathleen whispers and Olivia shakes her head. She crosses the space Kathleen's put between them, and grabs the young girl's hand, then leads her over to the couch. "I didn't mean to ruin your date."

"It wasn't a date." Olivia says a little too quickly as they sit down on the couch; she wants to ask about Elliot, but she wants Kathleen calm, too. "I mean, we – Bri and I, we're not - " She fumbles over her words; uncertain of how to sum up the relationship she shares with Brian. He's like a much needed port in the raging storm that has become her life the last six months, but right now that's all he is; they have fun and it's nice having someone to go to after a long days work.

A devilish grin spreads across Kathleen's tear streaked face and the blonde wiggles her brows. "Ooooolivia," she smiles, "I never took you for one to have a fuck buddy. I mean, he wasn't bad looking, definitely always thought Dad was more your type, but hey, I'm not mad."

Olivia's mouth falls open, and she tilts her head in shock. She can't believe the words that just left Kathleen's mouth. Her brown locks bounce as she shakes her head in disbelief and bemusement. "I don't believe you that you just said any of that."

"Oh come on, Liv, you of all people know I'm not a virgin."

"Doesn't mean we're discussing my sex life."

"There's a hickey the size of Texas on your neck," Kathleen grins again, sniffling as she dries her eyes and then points to a mark that sits just above her clavicle on her left side. Olivia's free hand flies to her neck and she rolls her eyes.

Their light banter continues for a few moments more before Olivia levels Kathleen with a concerned gaze, brushing her long brown locks from her face as she does so.

"As much fun as I'm having with your invasive questions, Kat, you need to tell me what's going on with . . . with your dad . . .."

Almost immediately tears swell in Kathleen's eyes, she nods slowly and takes a deep breath. "He doesn't know I'm here, but he misses you – he really does." She starts, and Olivia's breath hitches in her throat.

She wants to laugh at Kathleen's words. Elliot misses her? Ha! He hasn't called or texted her in two years, so much for missing.

As if she could read Olivia's thoughts, Kathleen quickly adds, "we both know he's not good at showing his feelings, hell the whole world knows; but he does miss you, Liv. He's tried to call you a few times, but stopped."

Olivia says nothing; she's afraid to. For two years she's felt as if something was missing, like one of her extremities, without him by her side. They'd been together for so long and one day he was just gone – vanished, taking every trace that she'd ever meant something to him.

"He's really sick; he's going to die," she crying again. "And he's threatening to give up on trying to live. He's not trying to fight anymore . . .." The hysterics start again and all Olivia can do is close the distance between them on the couch and cradle Kathleen in her arms.

She doesn't know the full story, she doesn't even know part of it, but that doesn't stop the tears that swell up in her own eyes as she tries to sooth her ex-partner, more than a friend, not quite lover's daughter.

"He needs you to kick some sense into him, he needs you to give him a reason to live." Kathleen croaks, voice hoarse, and once again Olivia doesn't respond.

Her hold on the young blonde tightens, though, and pretty soon they've both fallen asleep, locked in each other's arms. Mr. & Mrs. Smith plays in the background.

**_tbc._**


End file.
